Plans and blueprints are large, they arrive rolled, and old ones fade fast in daylight. We flatten the sheet, hinge it on acid-free board and frame it behind UV glazing.
We frame house plans, blueprints, elevations, engineering drawings and patent drawings in our workshop at 1242 Davie Street. An elevation is a drawing of one face of a building, seen straight on. These sheets share three features. They are large, they have usually been stored rolled or folded, and many were printed by a process that fades in daylight.
Old blueprints and light
A true blueprint has white lines on a deep blue ground. The blue formed when the paper was first exposed to light, and long exposure to daylight turns that same blue pale. Later copies, with blue or purple lines on a pale ground, also fade, and their paper darkens.
Glazing means the sheet of glass or acrylic at the front of a frame. For any blueprint we recommend UV glazing, which filters ultraviolet light, the part of daylight that causes the most fading. Our guide to UV glass and glazing compares the kinds. Choose a wall that gets no direct sun.
The blue also loses colour against alkaline material. Some acid-free boards have an alkaline substance added, so an original blueprint needs board made without it. Tell us at the counter if yours is a true blueprint.
Getting a rolled sheet flat
A plan that has been rolled for years keeps its curl, and old paper can crack when it is forced open. Bring it rolled, as it is. The sheet is opened slowly and left under light weight until it lies flat. A hot iron harms old prints, so keep heat away from the sheet at home.
A folded plan keeps faint lines along the folds after it is flat. Our map and chart framing page covers folded sheets.
How the sheet is held
The sheet rests on acid-free board, made so that it stays free of the acid that browns paper. It is attached with hinges, small tabs of thin paper fixed along the top edge. A large sheet grows and shrinks with damp and dry air, and a sheet that hangs from its top edge has room to move and stay flat. No glue or tape touches the drawing.
Plans carry information at their edges: a border line, a title block with the project name, a scale and a date. You choose how much of that shows.
A mat over the edges. A mat is a border of card with an opening cut in it. The opening can be cut outside the border line of the drawing, so the title block stays in view.
The whole sheet showing. The sheet is floated, which means it lies on top of the backing with its edges visible. Our float mounting page explains this.
Drawings on tracing paper or drafting cloth are partly transparent, so the colour of the board behind them changes how the lines look. Hold board samples behind the sheet at the counter before you pick one.
Large sheets and acrylic
A full-size plan makes a large frame, and a large sheet of glass is heavy and dangerous if it breaks. For large plans we recommend acrylic, which is lighter and does not shatter. Our guide to acrylic and glass compares the two, and our oversized and large format framing page covers bracing and hanging hardware. Before you order, measure the doors, the stairs and the lift on the way to the wall.
A large drawing needs the same choice. Symphony of the Wild is a coloured pencil drawing on artboard, 150 by 120 cm, of parrots and macaws in the branches of a tree, and acrylic is the glazing we would recommend at that size.
The floor plan, the elevations and a section of one building look like one group when every frame uses the same moulding, the shaped length of wood or metal a frame is cut from, and the same mat colour. When the sheets differ in size, there are two ways to make the set look regular: one outer frame size with a different mat border on each sheet, or one border width with frames of different sizes. Sets for a workplace are covered under office and corporate art framing.
Paintings can hang as a matched set as well. Moonlit Reflections, an acrylic on canvas of white houses and a church tower above a bridge under a small moon, is 30 by 40 cm, and other small paintings in our gallery are the same size.
Size changes the cost most, because a large sheet needs more moulding, more board and more glazing. After that come the type of glazing, the moulding, and whether there is a mat. We quote each sheet at the counter once it has been measured.
What to bring or send
Bring the sheet rolled in a tube, or flat in a folder if it has always been stored flat. Leave old tape, pins and labels in place. If you live outside Vancouver, send the height and width of the sheet, a note of what it is printed or drawn on, and a photograph of the front.
Walk in at 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. Enter your email on this page for a 10% framing code to show at the shop, and see custom framing for everything else we frame.
How it works
1
Bring it in, or send photographs
Walk in to 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. If you are not in Vancouver, send the dimensions and a photograph and we will work from that.
2
We look at the actual piece
What it is made of, what condition it is in, and where it is going to hang all change the answer. You get a straight recommendation and a price for your piece, not a rate card.
3
It is made by hand and fitted
Cut to the piece, using conservation materials, and finished with hanging hardware rated for the actual weight.
Common questions
Why do old blueprints fade?
Old blueprints fade because the blue colour in them reacts to light. The blue formed when the paper was first exposed to light, and long exposure to daylight turns that same blue pale. UV glazing, which filters ultraviolet light, slows the fading, and a wall with no direct sun slows it further. A blueprint stored flat in a dark drawer keeps its colour longest.
Can a blueprint that has been rolled for years be framed flat?
Yes, a blueprint that has been rolled for years can be framed flat. The sheet is opened slowly and left under light weight until it lies flat, and it is measured after that. Old paper can crack when it is forced open, so bring the blueprint rolled, as you found it. Inside the frame it hangs from hinges at its top edge, which helps it stay flat.
Is it better to frame an original blueprint or a copy?
Framing a copy of a blueprint is the safer choice when the original is the only record of the building, because every blueprint loses some colour in light. A print shop can make the copy, and the original is then stored flat in the dark. If you want the original on the wall, choose UV glazing and a wall with no direct sun, and ask us at the counter which board suits it.
How is an architectural drawing on tracing paper framed?
An architectural drawing on tracing paper is hinged at its top edge to an acid-free board, with no glue on the sheet. Tracing paper is partly transparent, so the colour of the board behind it shows through and changes how the lines look. A white board gives the strongest contrast, and a cream board gives lower contrast and an older look. Hold board samples behind the drawing at the counter before you choose.
How big is the frame for a full-size house plan?
The frame for a full-size house plan is the size of the sheet, plus the mat border on each side if you choose a mat, plus the width of the moulding on each side. The finished frame is rigid, so it has to pass through every door and stairway on the way to the wall. Measure the wall, the doors and the stairs before you order, and bring those measurements with the plan.
Can a patent drawing be framed with the first page of the patent?
Yes, a patent drawing can be framed with the first page of the patent in one frame. Each sheet gets its own opening in one mat, a border of card, and each is hinged to acid-free board behind it. The drawing usually takes the larger share of the frame, and the text page goes beside it or below it. Bring both sheets so the layout can be set out on the counter.
Can the title block and notes on a plan stay visible in the frame?
Yes, the title block and notes on a plan can stay visible in the frame. The mat opening is cut outside the border line of the drawing, so the project name, the scale and the date all show. If writing runs to the edge of the paper, the sheet is floated, which means it lies on top of the backing board with all four edges in view.
10% off your custom framing when you show this code at our shop
We frame, stretch canvas and reframe by hand, in our own workshop inside the gallery at
1242 Davie Street. Enter your email and your code appears right here. Show it at the
counter and we take 10% off the job. The code does not expire.
Send the measurements, what it is made of, and a photograph. We will tell you what it actually needs, including when the answer is that it needs less than you expected.
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and we take 10% off any framing, stretching or reframing job you bring us. It does not
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Exceptional Service and a Truly Memorable Art Purchase
I had a wonderful experience with Van Art Hub Gallery. I came across two pieces by Melina Ghaemi — *Mad Mirrors* and *Small World in the Hands of a Stranger* — and immediately fell in love with them.
I contacted Van Art Hub Gallery, and they were incredibly helpful throughout the entire process, from arranging the payment to organizing the shipping. At first, I was a little skeptical and nervous about how everything would work, especially since the paintings were still in Iran and it was shortly after the war. But the gallery handled everything with such professionalism and care that my concerns quickly disappeared. Amazingly, they were able to get the paintings to Canada in just two days!
The pieces are absolutely captivating. Even when I picked them up from the frame maker and was simply carrying them to my car, several people stopped and asked me about the paintings. That says a lot about how striking and special Melina Ghaemi’s work is.
A big thank you to Van Art Hub Gallery for making this experience so smooth and enjoyable. I truly appreciated their professionalism, communication, honesty, and integrity throughout the entire process. I would happily work with them again and highly recommend them to anyone interested in purchasing art through the gallery.
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The support team was really helpful and followed up nicely, wich I really appreciated. The painting is just like the photo – great quality and very detalied. I just wish it arrived a bit sooner, but honestly it was worth the wait.
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